Weathering The Storms

 

How is everyone? I missed doing a post for last week cuz hubby had some extra time off d/t snow storms, and the national holiday for Martin Luther King Day so we just took advantage of some extra time together. 

Oh, and we woke up this past Saturday at 4:30AM to find a water main break on our street!!  We were without water until late that night and are now on orders to thoroughly boil all water before using-ugh! Hubby actually took a day off today (Mon.) at the last minute because we were getting hit with some dangerous snow squalls and another heavy snowfall right when he should have been leaving for his 45 minute commute!

 

 I just took these a few min. ago even though they look identical to the snow photos I shared in my last two posts! It just keeps piling up. Enough already😠! I am trying to dismiss the winter by using lots of bright and bold colors in my art 😉

 We did  get to have Todd and Kyra over on the 14th for Todd's birthday dinner in between the storms:

    We got him a custom mug with a silly photo of he and Kyra and on the other side of it I had printed "Remember to always have fun together". He doesn't like ANY hot drinks so I filled the mug with his favorite Goldfish snack😀. We also got him a set of custom coasters with a photo collage of him, his groomsmen and father from the wedding day. That and one of his fave dinners- German meatballs over noodles, warm bread, salad, and a dark chocolate cake. I'd say we did good. Cheers to the T Stands For Tuesday gang!

Art Play: I actually have two pages of art yet to post here that are listed in a small notebook! Not always easy to keep up with what is posted here and what I post on Instagram or when. This page I'll share with Try It On Tuesday (theme is Oh So Cute) because I think this darling Dina Wakley birdie fits the bill:)

 

 Still enjoying starting  a page with a grid of a few colors and playing with more unusual color combinations. Here I used Dina Wakley paints in Sand, Ocean, Eggplant, and Evergreen.

Here is another temporary mandala I created playing with the fussy cut leaves I made from the Darkroom Door small stencil- Ferns:

 

 I used Dina Wakley Gloss Sprays through the stencils. These will be used on cards and journal pages.

 A simple collage done on a burlap page. I'm determined to finish the handful of pages left to complete this journal (so I can get a new one of course:):)

 And one last page for today. This one is for Art Journal Journey with the theme of "Heavy Metal", and the Simon Says Monday Challenge (Anything But a Card)::

 Lots of Dina Wakley products. I used metallic Gloss Sprays in Gilt and Medieval for the background. Other- Dina Wakley Collage Collective, Just Words Collage papers, Good Idea Stamp set, Mantras stencil. Kraft card stock, Versafine Onyx Black ink.

Also joining in at Paint Party Friday. Well that's all folks! Take care and have a wonderful week.

" Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot; whether the weather be fine, or the weather be not, we'll weather the weather whatever the weather, whether we like it or not."   Unknown

 

This and That

 

  Wow- Sunday will be Valentine's Day, and our son will be 33 years old! Where does the time go? IF we don't get completely snowed in again we plan on having him and our DIL over to celebrate. 

 In my last post I mentioned the snowstorm we were in the midst of. Well, before it ended it dumped  a whopping 27 inches on us!!!

                                            our back yard

 I could have cried. Hubby got another day off because so many roads and even parts of highways were impassable! And once people started shoveling out their cars they made masses of snow piles partly in the streets that resembled huge pyramids so there was hardly any parking(thankfully we have a parking pad in back for both our cars)!! It gets better.... the piles of snow were finally taken away- and proper plowing was done- just this past Saturday night-and only because we were getting MORE SNOW Sunday😖 We got another 3 1/2 inches by Sunday afternoon. Oh joy. And snow is expected again Tuesday, Thursday and perhaps this coming Sunday again! I don't think I'm living in Alaska, or am I???

 OK, so in the meantime I'm continuing to cook, bake, and play in my art room. First up my ticket to T Stands For Tuesday:

 I made the delicious Molasses Muffin recipe that came from our lovely hostess Elizabeth for the T parties. This is one of hubby's favorites! I put the batter in a 7" x 11" pan rather than muffin tins. I'm sure you can find the recipe Elizabeth shared on her blog:) Cheers!

 I've been playing around with grid style pages in my art journal lately. The grid idea was inspired by an IGTV video by Megan Whisner Quinlan who LOVES Dina Wakley products as much as I do😁. And it's great way to keep some white space on a page as well.

 Here is how my first grid started:

 and here is my completed page:

 And here is another- this one is meant for Art Journal Journey with the theme of "heavy metal":

Here's a detail pic I took to try and show the Dina Wakley metallic paint "Penny" that I used to do some mark making:

 I'll also join in at Paint Party Friday at the end of the week.

 Up next is a card meant for Try It On Tuesday (Falling in Love), and the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge (Love is in the Air):

  Products: Large white note card; turquoise, white card stock; wide satin ribbon (Michaels); felt heart (Martha Stewart); paper flower (Recollections); heart button (Dress It Up); Spellbinders Shapeabilities "Floral Doily Motifs" die; Spellbinders M-Bossabilities "Elite" Embossing Folder.

 Fingers crossed for me please that we don't get much more snow🙏 

                  Happy Valentine's Day my friends💖

"Our self-expression is meant to be a manifestation of the silence of our hearts."    Matthew Fox

Scatter Pink

 

 Hi peeps! How's the weather in your parts? Cuz it is NOT good here!! We are in the midst of a Nor'Easter snowstorm which began Sunday afternoon and as of my typing Monday afternoon it is showing no signs of stopping😞. There are snow emergencies for many of the local towns and thankfully hubby's work place closed (hopefully for tomorrow as well).

 As of noontime today(Monday):

 

 and as of 4PM:

                         15 inches and still coming down hard and steady!

   I checked (at 6PM) they updated the prediction total to up to 24 inches. It's VERY unusual for us to get hit like this with so much snow!! And now as of publishing my post (8:15PM) we are at 20 inches and no end to the heavy snowfall yet 😱!

 So we're keeping warm with coffee and a special batch of pancakes I made for breakfast:

 

 I tried a new pancake recipe - and it is a keeper! Butternut Squash Oat Pancakes. Recipe at bottom of this post. Very easy to put together and delicious. Notice the mug? It's the reason for two photos😉 I just got this one I had made at Collage.com. I wanted to see what their service and quality was like and I can say I highly recommend them! They offer coupons and great value discounts as well. Cheers to the T Stands For Tuesday gang!

 There is a new theme for this month over at Art Journal Journey with guest host Valerie who chose the theme "Heavy Metal". Here is a journal page for the theme:

 The "heavy metal" is the Medieval Gloss Spray (which is a metallic though it's difficult to tell in the photo) I used to make the lollipop flowers and spatters. That gorgeous neon pink paint is Reflex Rose by Amsterdam which I LOVE!

 For another splash of pink I made this tag for Tag Tuesday(use a photo), the Simon Says Monday Challenge Blog (Love and/or hearts), and Try it On Tuesday (Love is in the air):

 Products: tag, pink trim, paper flower (Recollections); vintage image (ARTchix Studio); Chit Chat stickers, Botanical Collage Tissue (Tim Holtz/Ranger); Stickles glitter glue-Stardust(Ranger); purple German scrap (Collage Stuff); tiny hearts Shape sprinkles (Doodlebug Design Inc. - Simon Says Stamp).

 Last post I shared some postcards I was making using my 5" x 7" Gelli Plate for the backgrounds for an Instagram challenge hosted by Darkroom Door Stamps. Here are a few more:

 Most images, all stencils from Darkroom Door. Gloss Sprays and Paints are Dina Wakley. It  was fun coming up with a creative way to use the stamps and I'm happy with the way the numbers and flower images look stamped and white embossed on black card stock!

 Linking with Paint Party Friday as well! Stay safe and well friends.

    "Anything is possible with sunshine and a little pink."         Lilly Pulitzer

                  Butternut Squash Oat Pancakes

1/2 cup (generous) butternut squash puree          4 eggs         1/2 cup oat flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon          1/2 tsp. baking soda     1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup  sugar       pinch of salt

 Whisk all ingredients until fully combined. heat coconut oil or butter in a large skillet. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. When done, serve with syrup.  Serves 2 -3.

Note: you can also use pumpkin puree in place of the squash. Both are available canned in select grocery stores.